Free Republic

Pinching pennies and landing a crew of astronauts on the Moon before a geopolitical rivalry aren't two endeavors that go hand-in-hand. The Trump administration released NASA's proposed 2026 discretionary budget last week. The federal space agency would see a $6 billion cut if implemented as written, roughly a 24% decrease compared to 2025. However, the White House is confusingly still committed to beating China to the lunar surface despite shuttering all the projects working towards that goal. The proposed 2026 budget has a 10% increase for human space exploration, but the $7 billion allocated won't be used for the significant...

China pulls off a stunning space rescue, using a gravity slingshot to save its stranded moon satellites from certain destruction. A render of the navigation system. Image credit: CSU | The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel In March 2024, China launched two satellites, DRO-A and DRO-B, as part of an ambitious mission aimed at positioning them in a distant retrograde orbit (DRO) around the moon. Their task was to provide critical navigation and tracking support for spacecraft within Earth-moon space. However, due to a malfunction with the Yuanzheng-1S upper stage of the launch vehicle, the satellites were stranded in an...

In a rare announcement that has captured the attention of scientists and the public alike, NASA has issued a warning about an asteroid with a 4% chance of striking the Moon in 2032. The news, which has stirred both intrigue and concern, highlights the ongoing efforts to monitor near-Earth objects (NEOs) and assess potential threats to our planet and its natural satellite. Astronomers tentatively designated the asteroid 2025-XF47. NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations Program first detected it earlier this year. According to a statement from the agency, widely reported by outlets like CNN and BBC News, the object measures approximately 150...

Explanation: Why are there so many moonquakes? Analyses of seismometers left on the moon during the Apollo moon landings reveal a surprising number of moonquakes occurring within 100 kilometers of the surface. In fact, 62 moonquakes were detected in data recorded between 1972 and 1977. Many of these moonquakes are not only strong enough to move furniture in a lunar apartment, but the stiff rock of the moon continues to vibrate for many minutes, significantly longer than the softer rock earthquakes on Earth. The cause of the moonquakes remains unknown, but a leading hypothesis include tidal gravity from -- and...

Ground-based telescopes from the International Asteroid Warning Network have been tracking the asteroid, but it will be too faint to observe until June 2028...That’s why Webb was called in for the job, measuring the asteroid’s brightness across a range of infrared wavelengths to better determine its size. In late January, a team of scientists proposed using the mid-infrared instrument on Webb to observe the asteroid and better understand its damage potential. The team recently released the preliminary results of Webb’s observations of asteroid 2024 YR4, suggesting that, while the asteroid is larger and rockier than previous observations, it has nearly...

CERRITOS, Calif. - Two people are behind bars after a murder shook the community of Cerritos and destroyed a family. On Feb. 25, Cuauhtémoc Garcia, known as Témo, was killed as he exercised in broad daylight on the bike path near Don Knabe Park. Garcia was a husband, a father and a businessman. What we know: After FOX 11’s Gigi Graciette first reported on the case on Friday, March 7, an anonymous FOX 11 viewer was able to identify the suspects in an unlikely place. The viewer saw a video posted to TikTok by tourists visiting from Florida. They got...

The second lunar lander made by Intuitive Machines has touched down on the Moon, but like the private aerospace company’s first spacecraft, it may not be upright. The Athena vehicle for Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission landed yesterday just 100 miles from the lunar south pole, but there’s uncertainty around its orientation which may impact the mission’s duration. “We don’t believe we’re in the correct attitude on the surface of the Moon yet again,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said during the post-landing news conference.“We’re going to get a picture from the lunar reconnaissance orbital camera from above and we’ll confirm...

Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission lunar lander, Athena, entering lunar orbit on Monday. Photo: Intuitive Machines via NASA History is set to be made on the Moon again this week, with Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission Nova-C class lunar lander Athena scheduled to land there at 12:32pm ET on Thursday. The big picture: Intuitive Machines has partnered with Lunar Outpost to roll out the first commercial rover on the Moon and with Finnish multinational tech firm Nokia to deliver the first cellular network on Earth's only natural satellite. This mission comes after the Cedar Park, Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar...

Explanation: There's a new lander on the Moon. Yesterday Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost executed the first-ever successful commercial lunar landing. During its planned 60-day mission, Blue Ghost will deploy several NASA-commissioned scientific instruments, including PlanetVac which captures lunar dust after creating a small whirlwind of gas. Blue Ghost will also host the telescope LEXI that captures X-ray images of the Earth's magnetosphere. LEXI data should enable a better understanding of how Earth's magnetic field protects the Earth from the Sun's wind and flares. Pictured, the shadow of the Blue Ghost lander is visible on the cratered lunar surface, while the...

Blue Ghost just became the second private spacecraft ever to soft-land on the moon. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost moon lander just etched its name into the history books. Blue Ghost aced its touchdown try early this morning (March 2), becoming just the second private spacecraft ever to soft-land on the moon. The lander hauled 10 science experiments to the lunar surface for NASA, which was understandably happy with today's result.

watching now Started streaming on Feb 28, 2025 #Falcon9 #Firefly #SpaceX Join us for LIVE Countdown to Landing coverage as Firefly Aerospace attempts to land on the lunar surface for the first time with their Blue Ghost Lunar Lander.

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer approaches the Moon as it enters its science orbit in this artist’s concept. The small satellite will orbit about 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the lunar surface, producing the best-yet maps of water on the Moon. Credit: Lockheed Martin Space ============================================================================ NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer is gearing up for launch, riding on a SpaceX Falcon 9 as part of the IM-2 mission. This small yet powerful satellite will map water on the Moon, revealing its distribution, form, and movement. Before arriving at the Moon, the small satellite mission will use the gravity of the Sun, Earth, and Moon...

Explanation: Rima Hyginus is a spectacular fissure, some 220 kilometers long, found near the center of the lunar near side. Easy to spot in telescopic views of the Moon, it stretches top left to bottom right across this lunar closeup. The image was made with exaggerated colors that reflect the mineral composition of the lunar soil. Hyginus crater lies near the center of the narrow lunar surface groove. About 10 kilometers in diameter, the low-walled crater is a volcanic caldera, one of the larger non-impact craters on the lunar surface. Dotted with small pits formed by surface collapse, Hyginus rima...

The entirety of the lower 48 states, the greater Americas, and some regions beyond will witness — weather permitting — a total lunar eclipse the night of March 13 and into the early morning of March 14. This special cosmic event occurs when the moon, Earth, and sun are aligned. Long, red wavelengths of light pass through Earth's atmosphere and are projected onto the moon in majestic rusty or crimson colors. The coming total lunar eclipse, now less than a month away, is the first to grace Earth since 2022.

Several newly discovered structures on the far side of the moon were likely caused by relatively recent activity, challenging prior assumptions that the Earth’s only natural satellite stopped experiencing geological activity billions of years ago. Studies had previously concluded that the large arching ridges found on the moon’s near side were likely caused by heavy compression, most likely tectonic shifts that ended roughly three billion years ago. However, a new analysis by two Smithsonian Institution scientists and a University of Maryland (UMD) geologist focusing on the smaller ridges discovered on the far side of the moon has offered tantalizing hints...

CEDAR PARK, Texas - Among the starry nights of Central Texas this week is a little bit of home. A company out of Cedar Park launched a spacecraft on the SpaceX Falcon 9 on Wednesday. The launch from Cape Canaveral was a success. "The work is just getting started, and we've got an exciting mission in front of us, about sixty days in front of us, and we're digging in hard in all that work," said Scholtes.

WASHINGTON — A scientist who worked for the Defense Department, a White House space council and other agencies was arrested Monday on charges of attempting to pass along classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer. Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, Md., was charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to communicate, deliver and transmit classified information, the Justice Department said. The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf violated U.S. law. Nozette was arrested by FBI agents. He is expected to make his initial appearance...

This year will see (kind of) another rare astronomical event taking place across the night sky. On December 30-31, we will have a rare Black Moon to see out 2024. What is a Black Moon? You’ve probably heard of a Blue Moon; it’s a far more well known phenomenon that is different from a Black Moon but is useful for understanding them nevertheless. A Blue Moon, which earnt its name from the 1937 edition of the Maine Farmer's Almanac, can occur in two situations. It is either the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons (seasons typically...

... Orion's reentry followed a sharply angled trajectory, during which the capsule fell at an incredible speed before deploying three red and white parachutes. As the mission finished its trip of over 270,000 miles (435,000 kilometers), it looked to those on the deck of the USS Portland like the capsule had made it home in a single piece. As the recovery crew lifted Orion to the carrier's deck, shock waves ruffled across the capsule's surface. That's when crew members started to spot big cracks on Orion's lower surface, where the capsule's exterior bonds to its heat shield. But why wouldn't...

NASA announced it is delaying Artemis II and III missions, meant to take American astronauts back to the moon, because of a problem with the capsule’s heat shield. Artemis II, a mission to take astronauts around the moon, was moved from September 2025 to April of 2026. Artemis III would land astronauts on the south pole of the moon, and likely won’t happen until mid-2027, NASA said. NASA decided to push the launch of Artemis II because they found cracks in the heat shield after the Artemis I mission in 2022. Artemis I flew around the moon with no astronauts...